Please help me change my country and payment method for my Apple account from the United States to Mexico!

Question

Level 1

10 points

Please help me change my country and payment method for my Apple account from the United States to Mexico!

I moved from the United States to Mexico City more than 2 years ago, but I have not been able to change my Apple account settings from the United States to Mexico because I have continued to have an American bank account and could not provide a payment method specific to Mexico.

Three weeks ago, the US debit card number that I had used as the payment method for my Apple account was stolen - probably as a result of malware on my iPhone. So, I had to cancel my US debit card, and I no longer have a valid payment method for my Apple account. The American bank sent the replacement debit card to the address of my grandparents’ home in the United States, but I do not intend to travel back to the US to visit until 6 weeks from now and I have not been able to use the money in my American bank account at all.

Yesterday, I got the first notification from Apple that the payment method for my iCloud service had failed and that I need to update my anccount information.

In working with the tech support team at an Apple Store in Mexico City to remove the malware and restore my iPhone two weeks ago, I was instructed to buy an App Store & iTunes prepaid card at Sanborn’s to use as the payment method for my Apple ID. I bought a prepaid card for $300 pesos today. I guess the App Store & iTunes prepaid card that is sold in Mexico is equivalent to an Apple gift card in the United States?

When I try to redeem the App Store & iTunes prepaid card that I bought today in Mexico City, Apple will not allow me to add the card to my account because Apple detects that the card is for use in Mexico and my account is set to the United States.

In the App Store, when I access my account setting to try to change my Country/Region to Mexico, Apple asks me to provide a credit/debit card, a PayPal account, or a mobile phone as the Payment Method, but there is not the option to provide the App Store & iTunes prepaid card that I just bought.

My husband opened a bank account at the Mexican bank BBVA just two months ago. The debit card for BBVA appears without any numbers, name, or other identifying information, but there is a QR code printed on the back to access the card information. We are supposed to be able to download a BBVA app from the App Store to access the information for the New Mexican bank account and debit card, however the App Store will not let us download the BBVA app because the app is specific to Mexico and both my husband and I have our Apple accounts set to the United States. By going to the BBVA website, my husband can see the debit card number and expiration date. However, the BBVA website doesn’t show a CVV security code for the debit card. Since we don’t know what the CVV security code is, the App Store won’t allow me to add the new BBVA debit card as the payment method for my Apple accounts.

I am also not able to provide my mobile phone as a payment method. I have a Mexican phone number with phone service through AT&T. The App Store responded that there is a billing issue for my mobile account, while AT&T sent me a text message that this service is not available for my AT&T plan.

I do not have a PayPal account.

So, I am stuck. I cannot change my Country/Region from the United States to my current home of Mexico because I cannot provide a Mexican payment method. The App Store will not allow me to add the App Store & iTunes prepaid card as a payment method, and I am not able to add our New Mexican BBVA debit card as the payment method either because I cannot download the BBVA app to obtain all of the debit card information since BBVA is specific to Mexico and my Apple account is set to the United States.

I don’t know what to do to be able to update my Apple account information to Mexico and Mexican payment methods.

iPhone 14, iOS 18

Posted on Nov 7, 2024 11:10 AM

Reply

Answer 1

Nov 7, 2024 12:05 PM in response to MalloryCynRd

There seem to be multiple issues to tackle here, malware is not one of them. There is no malware that can infect an iPhone. Whatever happened with your American payment method was not due to malware on your iPhone.

The first issue: If your iCloud subscription could not be charged, then it means its still active, and you won't be able to even initiate the country change as that requires you cancel all active subscriptions and wait for them to expire. So you can't even get to a place where it will ask you for a payment method for Mexico yet. And you can't add a Mexican payment method to a US account.

The first thing you need to do, is to resolve the subscription issue with iCloud, it needs to be paid correctly,, so you can cancel it and any other subscriptions you may have on your account at this time. Then you need to wait for all the cancelled subscriptions to expire. Then and only then will it let you change countries.

In regards to the BBVA Mexico app, it IS available in the US app store.

You should be able to download it directly, but again, if your account is currently in bad standing because your iCloud subscription has not been correctly paid, you won't be allowed to download it.

It may be possible for your husband to download it on his device with a US account though.

BBVA Mexico App on the US App Store.

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/bbva-m%C3%A9xico/id374824226

The first thing to do, is to borrow an American payment method to add to your Apple ID so you ca resolve the pending payment issue with iCloud, only once that is resolved will you be able to change countries.

@MrHoffman, unfortunately it does not work that way in Mexico, the only way to get the CVV, is through the App, there's no way to get it from the website.

Reply

Answer 2

Mac Jim ID

Level 7

26,921 points

Nov 7, 2024 11:35 AM in response to MalloryCynRd

You did not have Malware on your phone, but of course resetting to Factory Settings will be the first step for any issue that a users has on their device.
Since you got a notice that a charge could not be processed on your card, then it sounds like you have a subscription that needs to be cancelled.
You will need to provide one of the payment methods that it shows and a prepaid Gift Card in no way proves your identity or region, even if the card is in pesos. You will not be able to add a Gift Card from a different region on your device.
It seems the key is to get the CVV number. This is something only your bank can provide and would be needed for any online purchase, so you would need to know it anyway. In most cases this can be found in their app. Not sure which card you have, but if it is the Aqua card, information is available here and notes that the dynamic CVV is available in the app and it is compatible with Apple Pay. Without being able to download the app, you will need assistance from someone who can download the app or go to the bank for additional options.

https://www.bbva.com/en/es/bbva-launches-aqua-the-first-card-without-numbers-or-a-cvv/

You will be able to change the region on your device once all subscriptions have expired and you have the required information from the bank. It will then be up to the bank to approve the card when added to Apple Pay. BBVA is an approved bank for Apple Pay in Mexico.

Reply

Answer 3

Nov 7, 2024 11:38 AM in response to MalloryCynRd

So you're seeking help with obtaining a dynamic CVV code from an app that is available only in a country that you can't yet download apps from?

You'll need a different payment card and quite possibly a temporary non-dynamic CVV payment card card, or you'll need help from BBVA getting going, or — if this is a BBVA Aqua card as I'd suspect — the temporary CVV can seemingly also be obtained from the bank website per the following:

(So get everything ready to change in the Apple Account in one tab, then get the CVV from the bank website in another.)

Reply

Answer 4

Niel

Level 10

732,659 points

Nov 7, 2024 11:20 AM in response to MalloryCynRd

Ask BBVA for the CVV code, or if you know someone you trust in Mexico, ask them to download the application. The gift card can't be used to change countries.

(256474)

Reply